In the Dark
by alchemyfreak42
Summary: After pulling Al back from the dead for a second time beneath Central, Ed ends up in this world blind and without alchemy, but quickly meets some familiar people. FMA based. FMA is not mine. Many tears. Rated T for language. No yaoi!
1. A New World

**I don't own FMA or FMAB. Nope, not mine. Tears. **

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**Alec**

I was walking around London, in one of the more run-down neighborhoods- I needed some space- when I heard an explosion nearby. I ran towards where the noise had come from, and found a house that had collapsed, and was now on fire. In the middle of the street, a blond kid roughly my age (16) was splayed out on his back, unconscious. I ran over and checked to make sure he was breathing. He was, but his breaths were ragged and strained. Luckily, I could already hear the ambulances coming our way. The kid's side was bleeding pretty badly, and I quickly grabbed my gym shirt from my backpack and pressed it against the wound, slowing the blood slightly. I checked out his injuries while I waited anxiously for the medics. In addition to the gash in his side, his right arm was broken, he had a bump on his head the size of an apple, and he had burns all over him, but mostly on his face and arms. His black shirt and pants were in shreds. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the ambulances arrived and medics jumped out.

"What happened here?" a brown haired, dark-eyed woman asked as two other medics took over the first aid, allowing me to stand from my kneeling position on the ground.

"I don't know. I was nearby and heard the explosion, then came as fast as I could. He was already unconscious when I arrived, so I couldn't get any information about him. I tried to stop the bleeding in his side, but it's serious and he doesn't look very good." I paused for breath, then continued. "His right arm is broken, he has burns on his face and arms, multiple lacerations on various parts of the body, and a concussion."

The woman looked surprised at my detailed evaluation of his injuries, but hey- my parents are doctors. I know this kind of thing. "What's your name, kid?" she asked after a moment.

"Alec Larson. My parents are the head surgeons over at the general hospital."

"Ah, that explains it." Everyone knows my parents- they're the best doctors you can find. She turned to her companions. "Hey, hurry up! That kid needs immediate attention!" Her companions nodded wordlessly as she turned to me. "Hey, do you want to come to the hospital with us? You can see your parents, and we need to ask you a few questions anyway."

I nodded willingly and climbed into the ambulance. I was always glad to see my parents, and I wanted to make sure this kid would be ok. I felt a strange connection to him that I didn't understand. At the hospital, my parents came out to get a cursory look at the kid before taking him back to operate. When they saw him, their eyes widened slightly, and that surprised me- they'd never reacted to anyone before, but maybe it was just seeing me there, and all the blood on this kid. It could easily be me or someone else they cared about. They quickly covered their reactions, though, and took him back so they could operate.

* * *

After they finished, I asked if I could wait for the guy I'd found to wake up.

"Sure," Mom said. "He'll be confused, with the concussion, and having someone with him when he wakes up might help him stay calm. When he wakes up, make sure he's okay, then come get me." She waited until I'd agreed to what she'd said, then left the room to help other patients.

* * *

Around two hours later, the kid groaned and shifted. He grimaced. "Unngh," he said.

"Hey, you awake?" I asked as he blinked his eyes open slowly. "Woah," I couldn't help saying, as I looked at his eyes. They were the most unusual color I'd ever seen- a bright gold that matched his hair. He turned his head in my direction and frowned. "What's wrong, are you okay?"

"Why can't I see?" He asked, his brow wrinkled in confusion.

_Oh, shit._ I thought. This could be very bad, and I had to keep him from freaking out. In a calm voice, I told him "You have a concussion. It's probably only temporary, so you shouldn't worry about it right now."

"What happened to me?" He asked.

"I was hoping you could tell me. There was an explosion, and I found you on the street outside a burning house."

"I see," he said, then his face became urgent. "What about Alphonse? Did you find my brother there?" he demanded. I could hear a twinge of desperation in his voice.

"I'm sorry," I told him softly. "I didn't see anyone but you."

Grief flashed across his face and he lowered his head, hiding his sightless eyes beneath his bangs. "Oh," he said quietly. "Where am I now?"

"We brought you to the general hospital."

He frowned and shook his head, raising it again. "No, _where am I_? Like, the actual place."

"London." He frowned, clearly not recognizing the name of the city. _Oh, dear_, I thought. This was getting better and better. Now he was both blind _and_ an amnesiac. "Hold on, let me go get my mom. She's the head surgeon here."

"Okay," he said as I left the room.

I found her quickly, and told her about his blindness and memory loss. I led the way back to his room. He heard us and turned his head in our direction. The second Mom saw his eyes, she froze. She quickly covered her reaction, though, moving forward and taking his pulse, blood pressure, and temperature. "I'm Dr. Larson. How do you feel?" She asked with one hand on his face.

He looked confused, like he was having deja-vu or something. "Fine."

"Good. What is your name?"

"Edward, but people call me Ed," he said, still frowning slightly. Mom heard his name and her eyes flashed with something I couldn't identify- confusion? recognition, maybe?

"Do you know where you are, Edward?" She asked, shining a light in his eyes, frowning when there was no reaction to it.

"Uh, the kid I talked to said I'm in London."

"Yes. Can you see anything, dear?"

"Um, no. Nothing."

"Alright. It's probably because of the concussion. You may have some minor nerve damage. Where are your parents, so I can contact them?"

Uncertainty, sadness, and discomfort flashed across Ed's face, the third one lingering longer than the others. "I, uh...they-they're dead." He finally managed to say.

Sorrow suffused my mother's face. "I'm so sorry. Do you need a place to stay?" She saw the uncertainty flash across his face again and quickly reassured him. "Don't worry, we have plenty of room, and Alec could use a friend his age." At this, I flushed, but she gave me one of those looks that said _If you say anything at all to dissuade this boy, I will make your life HELL, _and I kept my mouth shut.

He still seemed unsure, but Mom was dead set on getting this kid to stay with us. "Don't worry, it'll be fine. You look okay, so we can take you home with us when we leave tonight." She spoke with a tone of finality, then turned to me. "Alec, stay here. Give him a hand if he needs anything, okay?" I nodded as she left.

"That woman is going to give me an ulcer someday," I muttered angrily.

Ed grimaced. "Sorry," he apologized awkwardly."

"Not your fault, man. Not your fault. So anyway, my name is Alec. That was my mom- my dad works here too." The rest of the day passed slowly with him rubbing his eyes wit his left hand -the unbroken one- and trying to see anything other than blackness. When we drove home that night, Ed kept fidgeting , and my parents looked nervous about something. We put him in the spare room, and I helped him change into nightclothes, what with his broken arm and all. I noticed a _really_ nasty scar on his right shoulder, and it looked pretty old.

"Woah, what happened to your shoulder?" I asked, putting a finger on the mark.

"Nothing," he snapped as Ed flinched away and quickly pulled his shirt on, but not before I realized that not only did he have a scar on his shoulder, but all over his torso. He felt his way to his bed and I took the hint and left his room.

In the middle of the night, I heard Ed moaning in pain and fear. _What's going on?_ I wondered, hurrying towards his room in case there was something wrong. I _am_ a doctor's kid, after all.

"_ALPHONSE!"_ In his room, Ed was asleep, writhing in his bed and clutching his leg. I ran over and shook him. He bolted upright and leapt out of bed even as his eyes snapped open. His leg snaked around mine, knocking me down. Before I was even on the floor, his hand was drawn back, ready to attack if he needed to. His eyes were fierce, like he was prepared to fight to the death.

"Woah, hold on! It's just me! You had a bad dream- calm down!" He relaxed, visibly drooping with relief."

"Sorry," he muttered hoarsely as my parents rushed in belatedly.

"Is everything alright?" Dad asked urgently.

"Yeah. Sorry I woke you Mr. Larson. It was just a dream," Ed told my parents as he climbed back into bed.

"Okay. Goodnight." My parents went back to their room. On the way to mine, I heard my parents talking quietly.

"I just can't believe it's him." That was Dad.

"But how could it _not_ be? He looks the same, is named Edward, and don't forget- he apparently knows someone named Alphonse, who he loves a lot. Otherwise he wouldn't have screamed like that."

"It could be a coincidence," Dad said doubtfully.

"I don't think so. It seemed like he recognized my voice in the Hospital earlier."

"But _how_?"

"I don't know how, honey." Her voice shook. "Do you think we could ever go back?"

"No." Dad's voice was sad but firm. "We have a life _here_now. People need us. Besides, the people there think we have been dead for years now. We can't go back."

"I know,' Mom said with resignation. The light clicked off and I returned to my room, wondering what I'd just heard and what on earth it meant. _Go back where? _My parents never spoke of the time before they'd come to London. They said the past was the past and shouldn't be bothered. But they acted like they knew Edward, and weren't sure what to do about it.

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**Please review! As someone else said, silence is the best way to kill an author. If this story doesn't have at least like 15 reviews in the first 5 chapters, I'm ditching the story. I'm not going to keep writing a story that only four people like.**


	2. Angry Teacher

**Sorry it's taken me so long to get this up. School started again, and it's been frustrating. Okay, so FMAXorcist asked if Ed has his limbs back- yes, he does. His right arm is currently broken. I gave Ed his body back because he's in a totally different world and it seemed like I should at least do _something_ nice for him. Yes, there will be many questions, but all will be explained in time. Thanks for the reviews, even though I only have 3... Can I get some reviews, please? Every author needs reviews, or the inspiration dies. FMA is not mine. Oh, and this is based off the anime version (not manga/brotherhood).**

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Okay, so I didn't know how to put this into the story, but it's important, so I'm just going to put it here. Alec is adopted. Mr. and Mrs. Larson found him wandering the streets 10 years ago and took him in. He thinks of them as his legit mom and dad, but doesn't remember his biological parents. His past is a mystery. I haven't decided to make that into something real or to just leave it. I'll think about it. Reviews will help me decide though (hint hint).

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The next two weeks passed slowly, with Ed's injuries healing as he stumbled around the house. His vision hadn't come back yet, and being blind was hard on him. My parents were careful around him, like they didn't know what to do. Occasionally when they said something to him, he would look confused, like he was having deja-vu, but he never brought it up. One night at dinner, Mom announced that she believed Ed to be ready to go to school. "Your injuries are healing well, and there's no reason for you not to go to school. You're only 16, and the law says you have to go eventually, and you shouldn't wait to do tomorrow what you can do today." It was an old saying of hers, and not something unusual for her to say, but Ed's jaw dropped open and his spoon fell into the stew he was eating with a _plop!_

"I've been wondering why you sounded so familiar," he started slowly, shaking his head in disbelief. "Your voices are so familiar. You're both doctors. Even your stew is the same- I ate it all the time as a kid." His sightless gold eyes filled with tears. "We never found out what happened to your bodies. You were dead." His voice shook, and my parents were pale and had that _oh shit, this is NOT good_ expression on their faces. "Mr. and Mrs. Rockbell..." Ed said softly.

I was looking back and forth between my parents and Ed. They all had tears making tracks down their faces. "Huh?" I asked. Nobody noticed.

"Yes, Edward. It's us. We've been here since Ishbal." Tears streamed down my mom's face as she hugged him tightly.

"Huh?" I asked again. This time, my parents looked at me. They looked at each other and nodded.

"Alec, we need to talk." My dad's eyes were serious, not laughing the way they usually did. "About our past. Before we came here to London and found you. This boy is Edward Hoenheim-"

"Elric," Ed interrupted. "Hoenheim never did anything for us. My last name is Elric. It has been for almost twelve years now. (**AN: I wasn't sure when exactly Hoenheim ditched them, so I decided it was when Ed was four**) Hoenheim ditched us, and never acted like a father. So my name is Edward _Elric_, not Hoenheim."

"Ah. I see. I didn't know that. Anyway," He said turning back to me. "Edward and his brother are from our hometown, Resembool." He didn't notice the pain that flashed across Ed's face at the mention of his brother. "We were doctors there, and had a daughter named Winry. Bet there was a civil war in the east when the Ishbalan people rebelled against Amestris, our country, after a soldier accidentally shot a child. We went to the front to treat the wounded, and treated everyone. We were ordered to stop, but refused to stop treating hurt Ishbalans. A man was ordered to kill us, but took pity and gave us the choice of coming here instead. Either way, our families would think we were dead. We decided to come here and start a new life. We changed our names when we came. We found work as surgeons and have been here ever since. We'd given up hope of seeing anyone we knew again, but, well, apparently we were wrong." He gestured at Ed.

"Why didn't you just go back to your home?" I asked.

"That's where it gets complicated. See, Amestris isn't exactly a part of this world. It's separated by a sort of gate that people called alchemists can open and manipulate."

"Alchemy?" I asked "Like turning lead to gold and stuff?"

"That's illegal, actually," Ed broke in. "The inflation would be ridiculous if people just made gold anytime they felt like it."

"You're an alchemist now?" Mom asked, surprised. She looked at Dad. "Well, it does explain the watch, I suppose."

"Was. Alchemy apparently doesn't work here. But yeah, I was a state alchemist back home."

Dad started talking again. "Anyway, an alchemist can open a portal to this world, but I don't think it's possible to go back. One-way trips only. So what's been your life like, Ed?"

"Hoenheim left while you guys were in Ishbal, then Mom got sick and died. Al and I... well, we found a teacher and learned alchemy. We were convinced we could bring her back. We failed. Al lost his body and I lost my left leg, then gave up my right arm to bind his soul to a suit of armor.

"You bound his soul to a suit of armor?" Mom asked wide-eyed. "I've never heard of anyone being able to do that!"

"Yeah, well, anyway. I got automail-" my parents winced in sympathy "courtesy of Winry, and became a state alchemist. Then some wack job Dante tried to wipe out the country to make a philosopher's stone but we stopped her. The story is long and complicated, but I'm here now. Blind, but here. Al isn't. I just hope he's alive and back to normal over there."

We sat in silence, taking in the information we had gotten. Mom finally broke the silence "Well, I think I need to go to bed. This is a lot to digest, and you two have school in the morning.

"Yeah. Yeah, that's a lot to take in, all right. I'm still stuck on you two not being dead. Hey, mrs. Rockbell? I've always loved your stew."

Mom laughed. "Thanks, Ed. Oh, and could you call us Mr. and Mrs. Larson now? We're used to it, and most of the people here don't exactly know we're from a parallel universe.

Ed's mouth quirked into a half smile. "Yeah, I can see why you wouldn't want to say that. They'd either put you in the looney bin, or they'd put you in a lab for dissection." And on _that_ cheery note, we all went to bed, though Ed stubbed his toe on a wall he (obviously) didn't see, and proceeded to cuss out the building.

* * *

In the morning, Mom and Dad dropped us off at the school and told us they'd arranged for us to have the same schedule for Ed's sake. We went in, Ed walking close to me so he could feel where I went. He wore a pair of dark sunglasses to hide his unusual (and sightless) eyes. The school asses noticed the slight distance between the two of us and spread out, blocking our way.

"Got yourself a_ boyfriend_, Larson?" Alexander Day sneered. One of his cronies shoved Ed, pushing him back. Ed looked uncomfortable- there was no way he could fight with his arm in a cast,and he was freaking _blind_, but he scowled in Alexander's direction, the sunglasses adding a degree of intimidation to his air. "What's wrong, having your _boyfriend_ fight your battles for you?" Alexander asked me.

"Leave him alone Alexander," I said. He didn't move, but then the bell rang and I grabbed Ed and shoved my way through them. "Come on, Ed. Let's get away from them."

In class, Ed sat staring straight ahead. The teacher evidently hadn't noticed the new student yet. Eventually, he noticed that Ed wasn't taking any notes. "Hey you, in the third row!" He yelled. Ed didn't acknowledge him. "Blondie, in the sunglasses- I'm talking to you!"

"Yes sir?" Ed asked politely, not shifting his head.

"First, ditch the sunglasses. This is class; you don't need them. And why aren't you taking any notes?"

Ed removed his sunglasses, albeit reluctantly, revealing his golden irises. "Well, I have a broken arm-" he started, lifting his right arm in its cast to emphasize his point.

"Then learn to write with your other hand!" The teacher snapped.

"It wouldn't do much..." Ed started, but Mr. Waterson decided to interrupt him again.

"And look at me when I'm talking to you!"

"Uh, I can't..." Ed said, shifting uncomfortably in his seat.

"And whyever can't you learn to write with your left hand?" Mr. Waterson sneered, misunderstanding Ed's statement.

"Well, I _could_, but it wouldn't help me much..."

"Why not?"

"Because I wouldn't be able to read the notes."

"So you can't read. And somehow you managed to get into my class." I bit my lip. Mr. Waterson was always a jerk, but this was going a bit far.

Ed was clearly trying not to react. "Sir, I'm blind," he said after a minute.

_That_ certainly shut him up. For a second, anyway. Because, a moment later, he decided_ to test Ed's blindness_. "How many fingers am I holding up?" He demanded, raising his hand.

The entire class stared at him incredulously. Had he _seriously_ just asked that? Ed clenched his jaw, then spoke. "I don't know. I'm _blind_. I can't _see_how many fingers you're holding up because my _eyes_ are currently not working, and eyes are the devices with which people _see_. Therefore, when a person's eyes _don't work_, they cannot tell you the number of fingers you hold up. Or does the concept elude you?"

The teacher glared at Ed for a moment before marching towards Ed's seat and smacking him across the face, knocking him out of his seat. Ed's head connected loudly with the floor.

The class gaped.  
"He just punched a blind kid!"  
"The guy's got a broken arm!"  
"He's _got_ to be kidding!"  
"Waterson's going to be fired now for sure!"  
"There's _no way_ that's legal..."

Ed worked his jaw and rubbed it. He stood up and brushed himself off. "Hey Alec?" I nodded and looked at him questioningly. He sighed. "Dude, you need to _say_ something. The whole sight issue...?"

"Oh, right," I said, finally finding my voice.

"Where's my seat? I don't know how far I fell when he decked me."

"Two steps forward, on the right. Uh, do you want to have the nurse look at that?" I asked cautiously as Ed followed my directions to his desk.

"Nah, I'm good. A punch like that is nothing."

The class started whispering again.  
"Woah."  
"Did he really just _brush off_ one of Waterson's punches?"  
"What the hell?"  
"How could he possibly have had _worse_?!"

Waterson glared at Ed, though it had no effect. "Go to the Headmaster's office at once." I rose with Ed so I could guide him, but Waterson stabbed a finger in my direction. "No, you're staying here. He can go alone. He needs to learn respect for authority." Ed snorted, but felt his way out of the room. I could hear people murmuring directions to him as he passed.

At the door he paused and turned back to say one last thing. "If all the _authority_ here is like you, then this place _sucks_."

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**Hehehe, this chapter was really fun. Waterson's an ass, though. Sorry again about the late update. Review please! Remember, I need a minimum of 15 reviews in the first 5 chapters to continue my efforts with this story!**


	3. Wandering Alone

**Elizina, thanks for the review, and I'm glad you have deemed Alec worthy of your readings. This story is mainly about Ed, not Alec. It's just from Alec's point of view, because I felt like doing it that way, though I usually a) don't do 1st person and b) don't make it from a pov other than the main character. Also, I don't do yaoi. Thank you for not hating Alec. I like him. **

**I've decided to update about once a week, unless I get lots of reviews (hint, hint). I need reviews, people! I've only got four, and that's not going to work. If I had three per chapter, it'd work out. 3 x 5 = 15. But 1 review per chapter? No. So please review, and please favorite & follow. I like readers! **

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Ed slowly made his way down the hallway, running a hand along the wall so he didn't run into anything. He hoped. He could feel doors occasionally, but had no idea if one of them was the headmaster's office.

"Hey kid! What are you doing out of class?"

Ed turned toward the voice. "I was told to go to the headmaster's office, but I don't know where it is."

"You just passed it. Or didn't you see the big sign that says 'Headmaster' on it?" The voice was scornful and the speaker seemed very angry about something.

"Um, yes actually. I did miss it."

"How? It's in plain sight!"

"The operative word there being _sight,_" Ed pointed out. "I'm blind." He said it bluntly; he was tired of wandering the halls and frustrated at the idiot teacher who was apparently allowed to punch kids.

The man's voice turned incredulous. "And you're wandering the halls _alone_?"

"Yeah, I noticed that bit too," Ed commented dryly. "Could be why I'm lost, now that I think about it."

"Hold on, why are you going to the headmaster? And why are you alone when you're blind? Don't you have someone who's supposed to help you get places?"

"The teacher- I don't know his name- asked why I wasn't taking notes. When I told him I'm blind, he asked me how many fingers he was holding up, so I explained to him that being blind means I don't know things like that. He decided I need to 'learn respect for authority' and said I had to come alone."

"_Waterson_" the man growled, then grabbed Ed's shoulder and steered him forward, then to the left. They made a few turns, Ed stumbling uncertainly a few times. He stood uncertainly when the man stopped pushing him. "Hey kid, did that teacher put that mark on your face there?" He asked.

"Given that I can't see the mark you're talking about, I'm going to hazard a guess and say it was either him or the floor when I said hello."

"Did anyone see it?"

"Unless the entire class is blind too, then yes, someone saw it. I can't say for sure, but when something like that happens, people tend to look."

"_Perfect._" The man said, satisfaction in his voice.

Ed heard a loud knock on wood, then a voice called "Come in."

"This is Headmaster Anderson's office. Be polite," the man commanded before pushing Ed forward again. Ed stopped once he sensed he had passed the doorway and wasn't in danger of being whacked if it opened or something. He stood there awkwardly, fingering his sleeve.

"What seems to be the problem, Johnson?" The headmaster's voice was calm and smooth, and completely in control. To him, Ed looked like a kid who'd been caught fighting. Then the headmaster noticed that his right arm was in a cast. Why would he have been fighting, and how? But he had a large mark on his jaw that was slowly turning purple. His eyes were angled a bit left of the headmaster, but the kid didn't seem aware of the fact.

"I've got everything I need to get him kicked out." The headmaster's thoughts on the boy in front of him were interrupted by Mr. Jordan, gesturing at the golden-eyed boy.

The headmaster frowned. "What did he do? You know as well as I do that fighting isn't grounds for expulsion, Johnson. And his arm is broken. How much damage could he have done?"

Johnson's face clouded with confusion, then cleared. "No, not the kid- Waterson," he explained impatiently.

Anderson's eyes sparkled with new interest. Waterson was a vile man, but he had friends who could almost always get him out of trouble. "What do you mean?"

"He made fun of, then assaulted, a blind student with a broken arm," Johnson stated smugly.

"Are there witnesses? That's a very serious accusation."

"Oh, but it gets better. He sent the kid to you alone, without a guide, to wander the halls until he either got in trouble or someone found him."

The headmaster looked up sharply. "Again, did you see any of this?"

"Actually, the first time you only asked if there were witnesses, not if I saw it. I wasn't there, but the kid says Waterson did it in front of the entire class."

Anderson turned to Ed. "Alright, son. Tell me exactly what happened, starting with your name."

Ed fidgeted with the sunglasses in his pocket. "My name is Edward, sir. I can't see- I was in an accident a few weeks ago and they think that my nerves were damaged. I'm staying with the Larsons because they're old friends of my family and-" He broke off, the thoughts of his home, so far away, threatened tears. "Anyway, Alec is supposed to be my guide. A little while ago, the teacher noticed I was wearing sunglasses and wasn't taking any notes on his lecture. He made me take them off, then asked why I wasn't writing anything down. I told him I have a broken arm- I haven't been blind for long, and didn't want to tell everyone straight off. So he told me to write with my other hand, and then I did tell him about my...problem. He asked me how many fingers he was holding up. I got a little mad and explained that the fact that I'm blind means I can't see. I could hear him coming towards me, but didn't know what to expect. He hit me and knocked me out of my chair, but I didn't say anything other than to ask Alec where my seat was, because I didn't know how far I'd fallen. After I sat down, the teacher told me to come to you. Alec must have started to get up, because he said I had to come alone to learn respect for authority or something. Before I left the room, I told him that this place sucks if all authority is like him. Then I wandered around until this guy found me." He waved his hand in the general direction he thought Mr. Johnson was in.

Mr. Johnson coughed. "I'm over here, kid." His voice was in the opposite direction of Ed's wave.

He flushed. "Sorry. I thought you were...you know..."

"Don't worry about it. How's your face feel?"

"A bit sore, bit I've had worse." The headmaster and Mr. Johnson exchanged glances.

"Your face is only a _bit sore_? How have you had _worse_ than Waterson? The man's a living demon!" Johnson burst out incredulously.

Ed shifted uncomfortably. "My old teacher was...tough." He shifted again, praying they wouldn't ask more.

"Alright then." Anderson said, earning a brief smile of gratitude from Ed. "Before we do anything though, Mr. Johnson, I need you to go get the nurse so she can take a look at that." The headmaster examined Ed carefully while Mr. Johnson was out of the room. He wore the school uniform- long khaki pants and a white dress shirt with a black jacket and tie- and a pair of thick-soled boots. He was a medium height, leaning towards short, with long golden hair in a braid and matching eyes. He had several small scars on his face and a subtle strength, like he had been through a lot. He seemed nervous, but most people were nervous in the headmaster's office. His position was seemingly relaxed, but his muscles were tight and his face alert- he was ready to fight if he had to.

"Sit down, kid. You don't need to just stand there." The headmaster guided him to a chair.

"Thanks," he said as he sat down. His left hand kept going to the other shoulder, where Ed would rub lightly before putting his hand back in his lap, only to repeat it a minute later.

"Is your shoulder alright?" The headmaster asked after a bit.

Ed started, coming out of his tangled thoughts with a jerk. "What? No, it's fine." He said quickly.

"Are you sure? I can have the nurse look at it for you."

A slightly panicked look came over Edward as he shook his head fervently. "No, no; that's okay. Really, I'm fine."

"Alright, alright," Anderson said placatingly. "She doesn't have to. It's your choice, Edward."

He nodded in relief. There was a knock on the door before it opened to reveal the nurse and Mr. Johnson.

"I'm Nurse Hoane, dear-oh, my. This is a nasty bruise, indeed," she said to herself, looking at Ed. "Dear, I need to see if any bones are broken. I'm going to touch it; don't be startled." Her fingers fluttered gently over the bruised area, then she noticed another bruise on his forehead, mostly hidden by his bangs. "Oh, that can't be good," she murmured.

"What can't be good?" Ed asked.

"You must have hit your head when you fell, and if the paperwork is correct, you recently had a concussion. I need to take you to my office for a better look at this." She helped Ed to his feet, then guided him out.

In her office, she sat him on a bench. "Alright, now I'm going to need you to take your shirt off for me."

"M-my shirt? Do I have to?" Ed stammered.

"Yes, don't be embarrassed, I am a nurse, after all," she said, mistaking his nervousness for shyness. "And yes, you have to. I have to see any bruises you have that may be a result of Waterson's actions."

"No, I'm fine. Really." Ed was clearly trying to hide something from her.

"Take it off," she said in a voice that booked no argument. Ed reluctantly undid the buttons on the cuff of his right sleeve, then hesitated again.

"Can you get the left for me?" She complied, then Ed continued unbuttoning his shirt. He took a steadying breath, then undid the final button and slid the shirt off. The nurse gasped- a huge bruise discolored Ed's side. But what really made her breath stop were the countless scars on Ed's upper body, including a large one in the center of his chest, where it looked like something had gone through his heart, and a massive one covering his left shoulder and parts of his chest and back.

"Oh, you poor thing. What happened?" Her fingers brushed his shoulder, and Ed flinched away.

"Don't," he growled. "Just get on with the bruise inspection." He was angry and trying hard to restrain his infamous temper. He heard her write something down, then she told him he could put his clothes back on. He did, then waited while she rebuttoned his cuff for him.

"Wait here," she instructed. "I'm going to get your guide- Alec Larson, right?" Ed nodded once before hearing the nurse exit.


	4. Fighting Blind

**Okay, That was really annoying. I typed up like half of it and then my computer decided to delete it. So now I'm typing it all over again. Hmph. Okay, so in order of who reviewed when: **

**Ms. Cheerful: Thank you for the compliments, and thank you Julie for translating them. You were very helpful. **

**Lilaclilly00: Ed arrived in this world in perfect health (and lots of scars), but the house he ended up in was in really bad shape, and collapsed from the forces that brought Ed over. Thank you for the compliments; they make me happy. Please do review every chapter, and I'll trust you. Keep the promise, or I may decide to hunt you down. You won't like that, I promise. I'm not one for cheerleading, but I do like marching band...? Rambling is always fun. **

**Fullmetalsoul0062: thank you :) I didn't actually know their names, but now that I do, yes, they will have the same names. First, anyway- they changed their last, remember? **

**Skystormstar: Thank you :)**

**If you want this story to continue, all you have to do is push the little button on the bottom and type a few words- good or bad, I'll take either. Good are always preferable, though. Thank you all for the reviews, NOW READ! (Izumi Curtis looms over you weilding butcher's knife threateningly, lightning flashing in the background)**

* * *

When the class door opened, Mr. Waterson cut off his lecture for the second time that day.

"Alec Larson?" The nurse asked as she entered, turning to me when I nodded. "I understand that you are Edward Elric's guide?"

"Yes ma'am, that's right."

"Then come with me, he's going to need your help to get around, though he shouldn't have been away from you in the first place." She looked pointedly at Mr. Waterson.

I grabbed my things and followed her to her office, where Ed sat scowling on the examining bench.

"Alec, is that you?" he asked, turning his head as we entered the small room.

"Yeah. Dude, your face looks like it was hit by a truck." I paused. "On second thought, it kind of _was_. Waterson is enormous."

Ed looked surprised when I told him, then smirked. "This? This is _nothing_."

I shook my head incredulously and chuckled. "Man, you're crazy if you think one of Waterson's punches is nothing. He's hospitalized kids with lighter punches than what he gave you."

"And he's still allowed to work in a school?" Ed asked, raising an eyebrow.

"He usually doesn't do it in front of people. But really, it's because he has 'friends' who keep him from getting fired."

Ed grinned fiercely. "Well this time, he screwed up. He punched a blind kid in front of the entire class. His career is over for _sure_."

The nurse interrupted, annoyed by the fact that we had forgotten she was there. (Whoops...) "Alright boys, you need to get back to class now. Edward, stay with Alec. Alec, stay with Edward. Don't leave each other, even if the Headmaster himself tells you to."

I nodded and we left. The next two classes passed without incident, though the teachers did get annoyed that Ed was wearing sunglasses and didn't take any notes, until he explained the situation, at which point they would shut up and go back to teaching. In lunch, we sat with my friends, who took an immediate liking to Ed. Halfway through lunch, I noticed Alexander standing and pushing his way towards us. "Crap. It's Alexander," I muttered. Why couldn't he just leave me alone for _one_ day?

"Which direction?" Ed asked softly, his whole body tense.

"Five o'clock from you're point of view. He has two guys with him." I didn't know why I told him that- it wasn't like Ed could fight anyway.

* * *

Ed heard the room go quiet, and quickly asked what direction the guy was coming from. He wasn't sure how, but he knew exactly what to do. Just one of the benefits of fighting for your life every day for four years, he guessed. He'd honed his instincts well enough that he could tell when something bad was going to happen. Which was, admittedly, most of the time. Ed casually took another bite of his sandwich, just before his shoulder was grabbed and his body forcibly turned. Not that he was resisting- the idiot couldn't have budged him if Ed had decided he didn't want to turn. He dropped his sandwich just in time to keep a fist from entering his stomach.

"You might not want to do that." Ed's voice was calm, composed, and cold as ice. "One, you're currently attacking a blind kid in front of an entire cafeteria full of people. Two, I may be blind, and I may have a broken arm, but I can still kick your ass without even breaking a sweat." He thought for a moment, then continued."Oh, and next time, please wait until I'm finished eating. I hate it when I have to interrupt a meal to fight."

Ed turned back to the table, picking up his sandwich from where he'd dropped it. _Three...two...one...now!_ In one smooth motion, Ed put down his sandwich and slid off the table bench, cleanly avoiding a fist that went through the space he'd been moments before. He smiled dangerously. Yep, instinct was a wonderful thing. He heard the room fall into a stunned silence and felt people staring at him. He shut his eyes to concentrate- not because he _needed_ to, but because he didn't want to try to see; he needed to be more focused on his other senses at the moment. There- he stepped back to avoid the cause of a slight whistling and a soft breeze.

"What the hell? There's no _way_ this guy is blind!" Alexander yelled angrily.

"Oh, don't worry, I can't see you," Ed assured him. "Much as I wish they did, my eyes aren't currently operational. But see, here's the thing: I don't _need_ my eyes." As Ed spoke, he dodged more blows he knew were aimed at him. "Understand, I've been using martial arts since I was seven. Our teacher made us fight blindfolded a lot- it focuses the other senses and forces you to really_ think _about what you're doing. And being blind happens to be a hell of a lot like walking around blindfolded all the time."

"There are certain fundamental differences between the two of us, Alexander." He spoke conversationally, avoiding attacks and keeping his stance wide in case he hit a table. I think the biggest one is probably that _I_ actually _use_ my brain, while _you_ just use your _fists_." With that, Ed thrust his hand forward, right where he knew Alexander would be advancing.

A loud "_oof!_" came from the block of flesh Ed punched, before there was the _thump!_ of a body landing on the floor- Ed had clearly knocked the wind out of his opponent.

"Now, would you please let me eat my lunch?" Ed turned in the direction he thought he'd been in. Unfortunately, he couldn't tell. He'd gotten turned around in the senseless array of cafeteria tables. "Alec? A hand here?"

"Over here." Ed quickly turned towards his friend's voice and started forward cautiously, not wanting to run into people. Suddenly, someone gently grabbed his arm and pulled him forward, weaving toward the place Alec's voice had come from.

"Thanks, whoever you are." Ed told his guide as he took his seat again. "I would've been running into tables the entire way back."

"My name's Daniel. And Alec was already on his way to help you. I was just a little closer."

"Thanks Daniel," Alec said, joining the conversation. "I was busy distracting Alexander's cronies."

"No problem." Turning back to Ed, he told him "I don't know your story man, but you have _serious _skill."

Ed brushed off the compliment. "No, that wasn't skill. That was just using my brain. Alexander seems to be missing his." Someone laughed.

"No, that was _definitely_ skill," Daniel argued. "Nobody's _ever_ beaten Alexander, and you took him down in _one hit_. And that doesn't even mention the bit about you being _blind_."

"What's going on here?" A teacher snapped abruptly. "Who hit that boy over there?" He was clearly referring to Alexander, who was still wheezing, red-faced, on the floor.

"The new kid," a student provided.

The teacher quickly spotted Ed's happy little group and marched over, fuming. "What is the meaning of this? Fighting is not allowed in school."

"Sorry, sir," Ed apologized politely. "He started it. I asked him to leave me alone, but he refused, so I decided to hit him." Ed's friends quickly backed him up, as did other students.

"Come with me, young man," The teacher barked.

"Okay. Come on, Alec."

"No, just you. I don't need anyone but you and that boy over there."

"But Alec is my guide," Ed protested.

" I can lead you there myself," the teacher insisted.

Ed shook his head impatiently. He really hated having to explain the whole blind thing over and over again. It was tedious. "That's not what I meant. I'm blind, and Alec is acting as my guide."

The teacher snorted loudly, clearly believing Ed's statement to be a load of b.s. "Fine; come along then." He quickly led Aledander, Ed, and Alec to the headmaster's room, where they stopped and a wooden knock sounded.

"Come in," The headmaster called. When he saw Alexander walk in, he sighed resignedly. "Who was it this time?" Then he saw Ed. "_Him_?" He spluttered. "But he's _blind_! Why would you _attack_ a _blind_ kid!?"

"A lot of people seem to do that here," Ed commented lightly. He shrugged, then added "Or maybe it's just me. I've been told I get on people's nerves a lot."

Anderson sighed. "Did he hit you?"

Ed snorted. "The idiot could hardly get close to me, let alone _hit_ me." He imagined the authority figure would be rather surprised by that detail, and was right.

"You're kidding."

"Nope. I may be blind, but I'm not _helpless_." Ed scowled slightly as he said it; he _really_ hated the idea of being helpless.

Anderson turned on his business mode. "Who was there when all of this happened?"

"Alec, I think that's your department." Ed stepped back, gesturing at his dysfunctional eyes.

"The whole cafeteria. We were eating lunch when Alexander came up and tried to hit Ed, but he caught it somehow. Ed told Alexander to go away, but Alexander tried to attack Ed again. It was like Ed knew what would happen- he kept stepping aside, then after a while, he just punched Alexander, who went down like a ton of bricks. Ed just came back to the table after that."

Anderson sighed again, rubbing his temples to relieve a migraine that was slowly forming from the day's events. "Alexander, you'll be suspended for two weeks. You two, go back to class." As Ed followed Alec out of the room, he heard the principal say "Alec, I'm calling your parents to have them come pick you up. The suspension is just a preliminary action; there will be a board meeting to decide on whether a harsher punishment should be enforced, and if so, what it will be.

* * *

**Sorry, I know it's shorter than the other chapters. But I promise, the next one is really good! Hehehehe. I plan on posting the next chapter in a week's time, but I'll tell you what: If I get, say, five more reviews before then, I'll post it early. The fifteen review nobody-gives-a-shit-so-why-the-crap-should-I-keep-writing-this limit is still up. I'll need seven more by the end of chapter five for this story to continue. PLEASE REVIEW!**


	5. I'm toot ired for titles

**Oh, shit guys, I'm so so so so so sooooo sorry about that! I felt like crap all week and I'm SOOO sorry I didn't update! Urgghh, I feel stupid, I'm so sorrryyy! Okay, so here are replies:**

**Lilith Jae: I'm sorry if he's ooc, but I promise it will get better. He wasn't saying he hated being useless though- it was ****_helpless_****. And from what I've seen of the movie, that feeling doesn't work with him well. You can say what you want; it's your opinion.**

**IamBatgirl: Yep :D**

**lilaclily00: thank you ') One eyed asian smiley for you there. **

**Elizina: thank you and I will.**

**Fullmetalsoul0062: glad to hear it scared you. And I'm glad you liked it. Yes, the world IS full of morons and assholes.**

**makoto naegi: I'm sorry if that irritates you, I just really don't want to go to the trouble of posting something people don't care about. Thank you for reviewing every chapter. I'm glad I don't have many mistakes and this seems promising. I'm going to try to work on chapter length. Sorry if it wasn't big. And this is a fanfiction, not reality. Sorry if it seems rude, but there is the whole dimension thing, and alchemy and whatnot, so why bother with reality at all? But yes, Ed CAN handle himself, as you will soon learn. And finally, NO FREAKING DUH (I just had that set up for a way to get Ed's school life off to a fun start, really). No other comments on that part. It will happen, just not in this chapter. I'm not sure when, exactly.**

**Again, I'm SOOOO sorry for not updating immediately when I got all the reviews, please don't hate me! NOW REEAAAD! (Angry Izumi looming once more).**

* * *

"Urgh, I hate PE!" Alec exclaimed as they changed in the locker room. Suddenly he brightened. "Hey, I just remembered- we're starting martial arts today, that should be pretty fun." He shot a glace at Ed, even though his friend couldn't see his look. "I wonder if you could take the teacher!"

Ed chuckled. "Yeah, I kinda want to find out too. Think he knows about me yet?"

"Nah, I doubt it. He doesn't listen to 'gossip and idle chatter,' as he says."

They walked into the gymnasium, where a large mat was set up, surrounded by kids, who were taking turns at making feeble attempts to attack the instructor, who took down every opponent in mere seconds, snapping directions as he moved. "Too slow! Keep your guard up! Don't take your eyes off of me!" He noticed Ed and Alec and stopped his onslaught of a particularly skilled kid, who had been standing for almost twenty seconds. "You two!" He barked. "You're late!"

Alec quickly apologized. "Sorry, sir, we were in the headmaster's office. Ed's new here." Ed noticed with a faint smile that he neglected to clarify the reason _why_ they were in the headmaster's office, instead implying that it was because of paperwork. He _also_ notably disregarded the fact that Ed was blind, and had a broken arm- facts which would make most people hesitate to fight. Although, in _this _school, they didn't seem to deter that many people... The instructor's sharp voice yanked him out of his contemplation.

"Well, newbie, my name is Coach Hudson. We're starting martial arts today, as I'm sure you've already heard. I'm currently assessing your speed, reflexes, and overall skill with a little sparring."

"Sir, I have a broken arm." Ed held up his hand, wondering what the instructor would do when he learned that Ed had a broken arm. It would seem strange not to- no ordinary kid would just do that. Granted, Ed was no ordinary kid. He didn't mention his other handicap though- he _really_ wanted to find out _just_ how well he could fight without his eyes- it had been years since he'd had to fight Izumi Curtis blindfolded in training... Once again, he was pulled out of his thoughts by the instructor.

"In a real fight, you'd have to put up with it and defend yourself anyway, so you can put up with it here, too. Now hurry up and get over here."

"You're right- in a real fight, I _would_ have to put up with this. So is this a real fight, or are we just having a little bit of fun?" Ed replied as he moved forward, carefully assessing the sounds around him for clues about how large the mat was.

That particular question was quickly answered by Alexander's whispered "It's fifteen feet by fifteen feet; you're going straight into the middle of the edge."

"This is a stimulation. Pretend I attacked you on the street. However, we _are _in a school, so don't go crazy."

"Deal," Ed responded, smiling broadly. This was going to be _fun_, he thought before closing his eyes and listening carefully.

_The patter of footsteps, running lightly towards him..."_Never close your eyes on an opponent!" The instructor barked loudly as he attacked.

"Why shouldn't I?" Ed asked lightly, dodging a blow.

"The eyes tell you what is happening in the world around you," he said as Ed slipped under another blow, opening his eyes just to keep up the illusion that he actually _used_ them.

"You're wrong- the _brain_ tells you what is going on. The eyes just help out," Ed announced as he launched his own attack.

"They are a person's greatest tool in a fight," the instructor countered.

Ed smirked. Wait until the instructor found out he was _blind_. _That_ would probably make him change his mind. "That sounds like something only an idiot would say," Ed declared.

"And why is that, short stuff?" the instructor asked, amused by the thought that a kid would be thinking something like that.

Unfortunately, he'd said the wrong thing. He was forced to defend himself as Ed's attacks suddenly became harsh and rapid. "WHO ARE YOU CALLING SHORTER THAN A GRAIN OF RICE!? WHO'S SO SHORT HE CAN GO TO THE BEACH AND WALK ALONG THE OCEAN FLOOR BUT DOESN'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT BREATHING BECAUSE HE'S SO SHORT HE CAN JUST BREATH THE MOLECULES, HUH? I'M _NOT SHORT_!"

When he finished, Hudson was on the ground staring up in amazement. "What the _hell_?" He asked weakly, unsure of what had just happened, and whether or not Ed would freak out again.

Ed scowled. "I'm not short," he grumbled. "And anyway, I wasn't even _using_ my eyes in that fight."

The instructor quickly picked himself up off the mat. "What do you mean? Your eyes were open..." he trailed off, quickly arriving at a conclusion he didn't like. "Do you mean to tell me that you're blind, kid?" He asked incredulously as the entire class stared at the two- the new kid had just _taken down the instructor_. Not to mention the whole part where it looked like he'd turned into a freaking _demon _because the instructor had called him _short_. Talk about _overeacting_...**(1)**

Ed grinned widely. "Yep. Now tell me, what was that you were saying about eyes being the greatest tool in a fight?"

"For most people, they are." He turned to the class. "Kids, you've just seen a master at work. And I'm not talking about me, either." He checked his watch. "Now get out of here, it's time for you to get back in your uniforms." They all turned to go, but he stopped Ed and told him to come back after school let out.

* * *

**1)Is that one 'r' or two? I can't remember!**

**Okay, I'm really REALLY sorry, and I know it's a really short chapter, and it's only eleven, but I'm SERIOUSLY tired. I can't even type straight anymore. I'm going to bed. I swear I'll put up more tomorrow, though, so don't worry. I'll try to make tomorrow a longer chapter, adn it has som e big stuff in it. oops. told you i can't type right now. sleeppppyyyyyy...zzzz... Okay, so sleep now, type in morning. night nithg all. slesespy me nto working. you won't eb able to read anything i types.**


	6. A Strange Encounter

**Okay, so last night was clearly not my best...I was a ****_little_**** bit sleepy. Actually, I was a ****_lot_**** a bit sleepy. If the actual story is hard to read, please tell me, especially which parts. I need to know so I can fix them, okay? I'm not sure if it was the story itself or the AN that was difficult. I KNOW the AN was hard, but it's the story I'm worried about. **

**lilaclily00 and Lilith Jae: you guys basically said the same thing, so I'm doing a double reply: Thank you for the spelling help; I'll fix that later. I'm glad you liked Ed beating up the teacher, I enjoyed that too. And yeah, I shouldn't have been typing that late, but I felt bad for not getting it up sooner when I promised. **

**NOW REEEEAAADD! (Izumi Curtis appears once more as lightning flashes and thunder booms in the background.)**

* * *

After school, Alec showed Ed the way to Coach Hudson's office before leaving to see another teacher he needed to talk to.

Coach Hudson opened his office door, and looked at Ed. "Ah, Mr. Elric. I was wondering, who was it that taught you to fight like that? You must have had a very skilled teacher."

Ed nodded. "She is. Her name is Izumi Curtis and-" He stopped talking as the Coach burst out laughing, the loud, rolling type typically accompanied by tears and rolling on the floor.

When he calmed down marginally, he managed to gasp out "_Izumi Curtis..._took on...an..._apprentice_? Oh, _man_! I never thought I'd see the day!"

"There were two of us, actually,"Ed broke in awkwardly.

Hudson cracked up again, and only got his laughter under control when Ed asked "So, you knew her?"

He nodded, forgetting that Ed was blind. "Oh yes, we grew up together. She was always a serious one; most of the time, anyway. But she always insisted she'd never take on any apprentices."

A corner of Ed's mouth quirked upwards. "Yeah. She didn't want to, but we were...persistent." He frowned suddenly. "But if you knew her, then why are you here?"_  
_

Hudson quickly sobered. "You mean, in this world?" Ed nodded. "I was a soldier in Ishbal, and wouldn't do some of the things they wanted me to do. I was supposed to be court martialed; at that time, the penalty for disobeying orders could get you a firing squad. Before they could, though, one of the majors gave me a choice: come here or get killed. I came here and started a new life. I've met a surprising number of old friends over here, though, so I'm clearly not the only one who was shown mercy."

Ed nodded. "Yeah; I've already met some old family friends. Anyway, I think I need to be going now, I've been in here for a while. Alec will probably get impatient if I don't hurry up. Besides, I still have to get my things from my locker. I came straight here when class let out instead of grabbing my bag first."

"Okay. Do you want me to show you the way?"

Ed hesitated, then shook his head. "I think I've got a fairly decent understanding of the school's layout, I should be fine...I hope."

"Are you sure?" Hudson asked, not wanting to take the chance of letting Ed get lost.

"Yeah, don't worry. But if I do get lost, I can always just ask for directions."

"Alright, then, I won't stop you. Just make sure you tell Larson's parents I was against your leaving here. I don't want them to decide I need an appendectomy or something. Doctors can be scary people when they don't like you."

Ed grinned and said "Don't worry, I will." before turning and leaving, counting his steps as he went and focusing on his mental map of the school, following it to his locker. When he got to the area he thought it was in, he felt the numbers on them, quickly using them to find number 1295, his locker. Most of them were combination locks, but because he was blind, he was allowed to use a padlock, which he quickly opened. After grabbing his things, he made his way to the room where Alec had been headed earlier.

Just before he got there, he heard footsteps in front of him, and turned. The other person didn't say anything, though, so Ed decided to initiate the conversation. "Do you need something?" he prompted impatiently. When no answer came, he said "I've got stuff I need to do, so if you don't mind, I'll be going now."

The other person's breath caught and he heard a choked sob before the footsteps ran back in the direction they had come from.

"Huh? What just happened?" Ed asked the empty hallway.

"I _hate_ being blind!" He yelled furiously, suddenly overcome by frustration. He kicked the wall angrily and a stream of curses spewed from his mouth as he was painfully reminded that his left leg was no longer made of automail.

"Hey man, what's up? Did you know that guy I saw?" Alec asked, coming from the direction the mysterious person had run off in. "He looked pretty upset."

"Don't know," Ed told him with a shrug. "He didn't say anything, so I have no idea who he was. When I asked him if he needed something, he just ran off."

"Huh. Well anyway, I'm done, and you've already got your stuff, so we can go meet my parents. They should be here in a minute."

Something about the strange encounter was bothering Ed, but he firmly pushed it to the back of his mind to think about later. At the moment, though, his stomach was starting to feel empty."Cool. Do you know what we're having for dinner tonight? I'm hungry."

Alec laughed. "You're _always_ hungry, Ed! I don't think you've been _not_ hungry for more than an hour since we met! Anyway, Monday is leftovers."

"Yes!" Ed cried happily, punching his fist in the air in triumph. "I call the stew!"

"Fine by me, as long as I get one of the burgers left from Saturday's cookout," Alec laughed. "Though why you would prefer _stew_ is beyond me."

Ed grinned again."Hey man, I haven't had that stew in _years_. Makes me think of when we were little, before the war and Ishbal..." his expression grew wistful as he trailed off, thinking about Al. _What is he doing right now?_ he wondered. _I hope he's okay..._

Alec nudged him. "Hey, Ed- quit thinking about your little brother for once and at least _try_ to be happy _here_, okay? You need to be able to live in the _present._ Thinking about 'what if's' will only drive you crazy."

Ed sighed. "I know, but I miss him. What if he's hurt or something? He could be attacked and killed, and I'd never even know!"

Alec shook his head. "I don't think so. I think you'd know if something happened to him. I think you two were close enough that if something happened, you would just...know."

Ed smirked. "So now I have telepathy? What do I need to do, find a piece of armor or something and yell 'powers of telepathy, awaken!'?" **(1)**

Alec chuckled as his parents drove up. "That's not exactly what I meant, but if it makes you feel better..." Ed elbowed him as they climbed, laughing, into the car.

* * *

Ed shifted in his bed, rolling onto his side to try to get comfortable. He just couldn't _sleep_. Something about that kid from earlier was bugging him, but he couldn't figure out what.

_Ed heard a choked sob before footsteps ran off, echoing loudly in the school. _His imagination took those sounds and changed them slowly as he replayed them in his mind, over and over as he slipped into a dream.

_A choked sob sounded before the owner of the voice turned and ran, his steps clanging in the empty hallways. _

_"Al, wait!" Ed yelled desperately before chasing after his sibling. __  
_

_He turned and looked at him, the armor shrinking into Al's real body. He looked at Ed with a look of such hurt and betrayal that Ed's breath froze in his chest. "You don't remember me, Brother! How could you forget me?" His voice was steadily rising, getting louder and louder until he was screaming at Ed. "How could you forget me? I'M YOUR OWN BROTHER!"_

Ed shot upright in bed, breathing hard. Was it possible? Something about those footsteps had been bothering him; he'd _known_ they'd sounded familiar, but was it possible that they belonged to his little brother? Just make them a little louder, a little more hollow... Ed scrambled out of bed and hurried into Alec's room.

"Alec, wake up! _Alec!_" He hissed, shaking his friend urgently.

"Hmm? Whaddya need, Ed?" Alec mumbled sleepily, not wanting to get up.

"That guy, the one you saw earlier after school, right before we met up, you remember him?"

The urgency in Ed's voice must have been pretty obvious, because Alec pushed himself upright, yawning. "Yeah, what about him?"

_"What did he look like?"_ Ed asked, desperately hoping that it was _him_.

"Uh, he looked real surprised, like he'd been stabbed or something."

Ed's breath caught- who else would have looked like that after what Ed had said?- but he shook his head urgently. "No, what did he _look_ like- his hair, eyes- tell me what he _looked _like, damnit!" He was starting to lose his cool.

"Okay man, calm down," Alec said as he pulled out of Ed's grip. "He was probably a little taller than you, with hair just a few shades darker than yours and greenish-brown eyes, I think."

An odd combination of laughter and tears bubbled up in Ed, and he sat heavily in the desk chair as his legs went weak. _It was him_. He came back to the world when he heard Alec snapping in his face, trying to get Ed's attention.

"Ed? Hey, Ed? Earth to Edward," He said, shaking his friend slightly and trying to figure out exactly why he was both laughing hysterically and sobbing uncontrollably at the same time. Once his friend had calmed down, albeit only marginally, he asked "Dude, what's up? I think I want an explanation for that little...whatever that was."

Ed smiled widely as he tried to keep his noise at a decent level so he didn't wake anyone up. "That was Al!" he exclaimed. "He's _here_! I don't know how, I don't know _why_, I just know he _is!_"

Alec gaped at the boy sitting in his desk chair, stunned. "You mean your _brother_, Al?" he asked, trying to figure out this new development. "The one from Amestris?"

Ed nodded. "Yes, Yes! It's him, I'm sure of it! Alphonse is alive, and he's _here!_" He laughed again, unable to contain his joy at the thought of seeing his little brother again, even if it was in this crazy, messed up world on the other side of the gate.

"Well, I guess that explains why he was so upset earlier. We'll have to find him and talk to him, explain things." He yawned loudly. "But not tonight. Tonight, I'm _tired._ Morning will come no matter what we do, and we'll have to get up whether we get sleep or not." He lay back down and rolled over onto his side. Seconds later, he was snoring.

Ed smiled to himself as he made his way back to bed. Alphonse was alive! And Ed was going to see him again!...Well, not really, but they would get to talk! Ed would have his brother back, even if it _was _on this crazy, messed up other side of the gate where everyone attacked the blind kid. Granted, there was a good chance that was just because it was _Ed_, and he got on _everyone's_ nerves. _Especially_ the crazy people's nerves. Ed was still smiling as he fell into a very unusual dream about corn, a moose, and a fast food empire. Not to mention the freaky hamster... **(2)**

* * *

Al sat up in bed, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes as he tried to convince himself to get out of bed and ready for school, failing miserably. He just didn't have the right energy levels yet- he had had a dream about the encounter with his brother, and hadn't really slept well.

_Al looked at Ed, hurt and betrayal flashing across the human face Ed hadn't seen in years. __"You don't remember me, Brother! You forgot me," He accused, trying not to cry. He'd been forgotten by his own brother, the person he'd spent so many years travelling with on the search for the stone. "How could you forget me?" His voice was rising, bordering on hysterical. "I'M YOUR OWN BROTHER!"_

After that, it had been a while before he managed to sleep again, and when he had, he'd had a _really_ weird dream about the end of the world depending on an ear of corn or something. It made him think he might have eaten some bad seafood or something. Surely the only way his brain could come up with something so ridiculous was with the aid of bad food or hallucinogens...

* * *

**1) That's a reference to the manga, by the way. Just to clarify, though, this is based off of the ANIME. That stuff never actually happened.**

**2) This is based off of a real dream I had at camp once. Not kidding. When I told my brother about it, he asked if I'd been on shrooms at the time.**

**I'll post the next chapter either next Saturday (one week), OR, if I get 5 reviews, I will post it either **

**A) When the 5th review shows up **

**or**

**B) When I finish it.**

**It depends on which one comes first. If I get the extra reviews, though, I promise to actually post it, not like this week. Sorry again...**


	7. Reunion

**Okay, so I guess it's time to update again! Wow, that was really fast, too! :D **

**Guest: Thank you! Glad you liked it!**

**Lilaclily00: I believe I already responded in a PM, but I'll do it on here again because I want everyone to know that I GOT MY FANFICTION INTO YOUR DREAMS! TWICE! Read more :) Answers on the way!**

**Fullmetalsoul0062: Your guess is correct, and thank you!**

**Elizina: I hope that 'interesting' is good.**

**Lilith Jae: I was just making sure you knew it was up, not harrassing you; sorry if it came over wrong. Yeah, reading late can be bad for comprehension. They don't mix well. As proved by ch5's AN. Which you probably couldn't read...**

**Oh, by the way, I'm going to be describing stuff like you would see it. Ed can't, but that doesn't mean I can't put in information about everyone else too. I like knowing what everyone is doing, even if Ed doesn't get that info.**

**ON TO THE STORY!**

* * *

The next morning, Ed waited impatiently for the others to get dressed and ready- he _had_ to find that guy and find out if it was Al. He was sure it was, but most people don't think that footsteps and a dream are a great way to identify someone. Even if their appearance _did_ match his little brother's...Who should have been in a different world altogether...And had been nowhere even _close_ to where Ed had shown up in this world...And- Ed was really glad when the car pulled up to the school, forcing him to break away from his thoughts.

The day started poorly. Ed couldn't focus in class, and got yelled at several times. Not to mention the fact that he couldn't look for Al because he was _blind_, and the whole blindness issue in the _first_place and the headache from trying to deal with all the people and not lose his temper whenever someone accidentally called him short. He barely managed to control himself, and by the time they got to Art in the second half of the day, he was ready to explode.**  
**

"It's just _so damn irritating!_" Ed shouted (on the subject of missing family and blindness) as they made their way into the class. He'd walked straight into a wall, and was _not_ happy about it. He could usually avoid doing stupid stuff like that, but with the swirling vortex of thoughts in his head, he couldn't think about anything, even avoiding walls.

"Excuse me young man, but that kind of language is unacceptable in a school." The teacher came over after hearing Ed's outburst.

"Sorry, sir." Ed grumbled in a not at all apologetic tone.

"So long as you watch your mouth, I'm sure we will get along fine, Mister...?" He waited expectantly for Ed's name.

"Elric. My name is Edward Elric."

"Well, Mister Elric, since you missed class yesterday-"

"I was in the headmaster's office with Alec," Ed interrupted, not wanting to get in trouble for that 'fight' yesterday.

The teacher frowned at him. "As I was _saying_, we are doing freestyle paintings at the moment. Just grab some supplies and you can paint just about whatever you want."

Ed growled in frustration, pissed that he had to explain this to _everyone_. "I can't." He said shortly.

The teacher looked at him sharply and Alec decided to jump in before Ed lost his temper and got a detention for saying things a student should never say to a teacher. "Ed's blind, sir. The reason he's in this class is because he's staying with my family, and my parents thought he should have the same schedule as me."

The teacher frowned but nodded reluctantly. "Well, Mr. Elric, you don't have to do a painting, but you do need to do _something_. Do you think you could make a sculpture? They don't require _sight_, just a mental picture."

Ed nodded quickly. "I think so, sir. I'm pretty good with my hands."

The teacher nodded again. "Good. Oh, and my name is Mr. Causey, if you need anything. Mr. Larson, I assume you can get him set up?" After Alec gave an affirmation, Mr. Causey walked off to examine the work of other students and occasionally give out advice or comments.

Ed blocked out the other students' chatter, focusing on molding the clay he'd gotten from Alec. When the class period ended an hour later, he was only half-way done with his project. After a quick debate, he decided to come back and finish it after school, eager to get it done.

* * *

"So what are you making?" Alec asked later as they made their way back.

"Armor," Ed told him shortly, not wanting to be rude, but not wanting to talk either.

Understanding dawned. "Ah. Is it..._that_ armor?" he asked gently. The sheer size of the school meant that they'd had no luck tracking down yesterday's stranger, and Ed was getting homesick.

"Yeah." Ed could feel his throat tightening as they approached their destination, which had voices coming out of it.

"-nd if I stay and finish this, sir?"

"Not at all. It's good to see young people enthusiastic about art. What are you painting, if I might ask?"

"I'll tell you when I'm done, okay?"

Alec pushed the door open, not noticing the way Ed had stopped walking. "Hey, it's him!" He exclaimed in surprise. "That guy from yesterday!" He looked beside him to find that Ed hadn't entered the room with him. "Hey, what are you doing? Get in here, Ed! You didn't wake me up in the middle of the night for _this_!" He put his hand on his hip as he waited for Ed to enter the room where he could be seen by the other boy, who looked like he couldn't decide whether to feel confused, pissed, or just to ignore them.

Ed stepped forward hesitantly. He'd never been afraid before, when he was facing down terrorists and chimera and homunculi, so why was he scared _now_? He heard a choked gasp as he stepped into the room and waited anxiously. _What is going to happen? _He wondered. _Is it him? Or have I just been grasping at straws, at a false hope? And if it is him, what if he hates me because for yesterday, or for sacrificing myself beneath Central? What will I tell him?_

"_Edward?_" He nodded, scared that whatever he said would be the wrong thing. He was so frozen that he hardly noticed anything until a fist connected with his face, knocking him backwards. "You _idiot_! I thought you were _dead!" _Al shouted at him. He seemed to break down after a moment, unable to keep up his anger with the relief so prominent in his mind. He hugged Ed tightly, and his next words were almost a whisper. "I thought I'd never see you again, Brother..." Suddenly the anger came back with a vengeance. "And yesterday- I _saw_ you! You didn't even _recognize_ me!"

Alec coughed awkwardly. "Um, actually, it's more that he, uh, he didn't _see_ you. And you didn't say anything, so he didn't know it was you, and-"

Alphonse turned on him, snapping viciously. "What do you _mean_, he didn't see me?! He was looking _right at_ me!"

Alec shifted nervously. "Well, there was an accident, you see, and-" Ed put a hand on Alec's arm, stopping him.

"I-I'm blind, Al...I can't see anymore."

There was a long moment of stunned silence while Al tried to get his voice to work. Finally, he managed to get sound out. "You-you're _what?_"

"I'm blind. My eyes don't work anymore." Ed turned his face away to hide the tear that he could feel tracing its way slowly down his face.

"B-but _how_? What _happened_, Brother? Why can't you see anymore?" His voice rose as he continued talking. "Was it when you came here? Did the Gate take-"

"No Al, calm down," Ed interrupted quickly. "A house collapsed while I was inside of it; I got hit on the head, and some nerves got damaged. The doctors say my sight could come back; I'm sure it's just a matter of time." He wasn't sure, not by any measure, but he had to stay strong for Al. "Anyway, we should talk about this stuff somewhere else. Somewhere _private_."

Al immediately realized what he'd been spouting and that he would get them all locked up if people heard them talking about Amestris, the Gate, and Truth. "Right. Sorry, Brother."

Ed nodded calmly. "It's fine. Where are you staying?"

"Oh, Ed!" Al exclaimed suddenly. "I completely forgot to tell you- _Dad_'s here!" **(1) **Ed nearly fell over in surprise.

"He's _what?!_"

Al shrank slightly as his brother's temper reared its ugly head, but repeated himself anyway. "He's here. I've been staying with him since I got here and couldn't find you."

Alec decided this was a good time to take over, as he was quite well aware of his friend's opinion of Van Hohenheim of Light. He started talking quickly in the voice his parents used when there was a really bad patient brought in. "Okay, we need to figure out what we're going to do. Ed has my class schedule at the moment, and he's living in my house. _You're_ his brother and living with you guys' dad, right?" He waited for them to confirm what he'd just said before continuing. "Okay, then either Ed needs to go live with you, Al, or Al needs to come live with us. Ed's moving out wouldn't be a problem, except for the schedules. He glanced at his watch and frowned worriedly. "Oh, _crap_. Ed, we've gotta go- my parents have probably been waiting for a while now.

Ed nodded reluctantly, then brightened. "Hey Al, why don't you come over for dinner tonight?"

"Are you sure, Brother?" Al asked, ever courteous. "Alec's parents might not want-"

"It's okay," Alec cut in quickly, knowing how much Ed needed to be with his brother, and vice-versa. "I'm sure they'd love to have you. Come over around six, okay?" He quickly scribbled his address on a small piece of paper and pushed it into Al's hand. "Here's our address; don't be late!" He turned to Ed and started pulling him down the hall towards the exit. "Now come on, my parents are going to kill me!" He had one last thought and turned to Al again. "Oh, and bring your dad too!" He yelled, ignoring Ed's protests at the idea of his father joining them all for dinner.

* * *

**1) Okay, so hopefully you've figured out that Ed didn't cross through the Gate the first time he died. I never actually said it, but it wouldn't work with this story, now would it? Oh, and I've decided that Hohenheim's not going to be rotting. I know it goes against the story, but this is a _fanfiction_. I have creative liberties. I'm going to take them.**

**I didn't realize I had so many 'A' names in here when I started it. Oops. I'll start a poll: tell me if I should change some names, and if I should, what they should be.**

**I had something else I was going to say, but I forgot what it was. On a side note, my school librarian helped me cheat the site so I could print my story off the other day. Fanfiction doesn't like it when you print stories, so I ended up doing a bunch of screenshots. The lady said "this alchemyfreak needs to get his act together!" and I was all like "LOL!"**

**So anyway, same rules. One week (next wednesday) or as soon as I finish the next chapter if 5 reviews pop up. The little button below will help you get more story. Push it. If you don't, I'll set Alexander on you.**


	8. Linked

**Here is the next chapter. The next ones MAY take a little bit longer, as I am at the end of what I had planned, but I'll try to keep updating weekly, okay? If you have suggestions, feel free to either PM me or put it in a review.**

**justaislinn: Thank you for the compliment. I know I haven't explained, and that will be done in either this or the next chapter. I have yet to decide whether or not Winry will come over, though. **

**lilaclily00: please don't fangirl. I have a friend who does, and it can be...irritating. I'm glad I got into your dreams, though. Hehehe!**

**Guest: thank you. It's always helpful to actually know their names.**

**Elizina: Thank you.**

**I forgot to open the poll before, but it's open now. Okay, this chapter pretty much sucks. Sorry. Just read it...**

* * *

_DING-DONG! _Al waited impatiently for the door to open. It'd been way too long since he'd seen Ed for any real time period. They'd never _really_ spent any time away from each other before Ed had been killed. Wow. He never really thought something like that would run through his mind. Huh. The door in front of him opened to reveal a blond haired, blue eyed woman who seemed strangely familiar. She saw him and blinked in surprise.

"Ma'am, are we in the wrong place? We were supposed to come over for dinner tonight, I think." Alphonse asked worriedly. Maybe he'd gotten the wrong address...?

The woman recovered and laughed. "No, I'm sorry. I was just surprised to see you, is all. It's been a long time." She led the way inside as she spoke. "Edward is upstairs right now; I'll call him down. Dinner is almost ready- It'll just be a few more minutes, and then we can eat."

Alphonse wrinkled his brow at the 'It's been a long time' comment, but decided to ask Ed about it when he came down. However, his father didn't seem to have the same idea.

"Excuse me, but what do you mean? Have we met before?"

She looked surprised at that. "Why, don't you remember Hoenheim? I know it's been a long time, but _surely_ you haven't forgotten us. We were neighbors for years!"

Alphonse choked in surprise while Hoenheim's eyes widened and he looked at her closer. "_Sarah?_" he asked incredulously. "They told me you were dead!"

She nodded. "We were given the choice of coming here and starting a new life or being executed, so we chose this. We could either have our family and friends think we were dead or we could _really_ be dead. Either way, we couldn't see our family again." She shook herself slightly to get rid of the somber mood that had momentarily overtaken her and turned to Al. "Anyway! You've grown, Alphonse. I'm glad to see you again; you have no idea how miserable Edward has been. He had no idea what had happened to you after the..._incident_. So when he came home from school _happy_, I figured something big must have happened. All he would tell me was that we were having guests tonight." A loud beeping interrupted her, and she jumped before hurrying away. "Oh! Sorry, I'll be right back- I just have to take that out of the oven..."

Al looked around the living room curiously as he waited for his brother. There was a small couch and two chairs arranged around a coffee table, with a t.v. across from the couch. A bookshelf stood against one wall, mostly filled with medical texts but containing a few other books as well. Pictures of her, Urey, and Alec were in different places in the room in frames on tables or hanging on the wall. He looked up as Alec walked into the room.

"Hey, I'm glad you came. This is your dad?" Al nodded and quickly introduced them before Ed came in, grinning.

"Al, You made it!"

He laughed. "Of course I did, Brother. Did you really think I wasn't going to come?"

Ed frowned slightly. "Not really. It's just hard to go so long without knowing where you are. You know? Now come on, I'm hungry." Al noticed the subject change and frowned as they entered the dining room. Had Ed really doubted him? He pushed the thought to the back of his mind as delicious aromas wafted around his head. He could think about that later. Now, though, it was time to eat.

* * *

During the meal conversation was light, but afterwards it turned more serious when Hoenheim asked a question that had been bothering him all night. "Edward, is something wrong? You haven't looked me in the eye once all night." Ed stiffened at the question and wracked his brain for a way out of answering.

Unable to think of anything, he sighed in defeat and spoke. "I can't see. When I showed up here I was fine. I had all my limbs, intestines, et cetera, and was still fine from when Al healed me after the fight with Envy. The house I came into was in really bad shape, and collapsed while I was inside of it. A beam fell on me and I couldn't dodge it because there was so much rubble. I got hit on the head pretty bad and almost didn't make it out before the door went. After I managed to get away from the fire, I passed out. Alec found me on the street after that. When I woke up in the hospital, I couldn't see; I haven't been able to since then, either. Apparently, it's nerve damage and my sight will either come back or it won't; there's nothing we can do about it." He bowed his head slightly so his bangs hid his face.

"I see." Hoenheim said softly. He was unable to keep a note of pity out of his voice that made Ed scowl.

"Hey Al, how did you end up here?" Ed asked, changing the subject. "I mean, I did the transmutation in Amestris, right? So why is it that you're here instead of there?"

"Actually, I believe that is a question that I can answer." Everyone (except Ed, of course) looked at Hoenheim. "Edward, when you did the transmutation, where did you draw the circles?"

"On my body," he said. "I planned to give myself up to get Al back."

"What happened when you activated it?"

Ed thought for a moment before answering. "I saw Al at the Gate. It was only for a second, though, before I came here."

Hoenheim nodded seriously. "I believe that in that moment at the Gate, you forged a sort of bond between the two of you. Because you came here, so did Alphonse. I don't know why you didn't arrive together, though. I'll have to think about it."

Al frowned thoughtfully. "So you mean we're telepathic or something now?" Ed grinned, remembering the conversation he'd had with Alec earlier that week.

Hoenheim shook his head. "Not quite. I believe that your spirits are linked together, to some extent. It may be very weak so that you only have a tiny connection and all that happens is you have a sense of whether or not the other is hurt. On the other hand, it could be a very strong connection- strong enough that you could literally feel each other's pain. Given the way you two grew up together, constantly in each other's company and entrusting each other with your lives, I think the bond you share is probably on the stronger side of the spectrum."

A long silence followed Hoenheim's revelation as everyone took in the information.

Alec broke the silence. "So you're saying that if Ed got hit, Al might feel it?"

Hoenheim nodded. "If it's the stronger type of connection, then yes. If it's a weak one, then it is highly unlikely that anything other than a vague sense of unease would be communicated."

"That's pretty cool, man," Alec commented. "I'd give anything for a power like that."

Urey broke in for the first time in the conversation. "Couldn't that be dangerous, though? For one to feel the other's pain? It may sound cool, but from what Ed told us, he tends to get into a lot of trouble, and if he was in a fight, the distraction of another's pain could be potentially fatal."

Both Ed and Al looked worried as their father nodded again and continued speaking. "Yes, it could. If one of them is given a particularly painful hit, the other might be in too much pain to help, and they'd _both_ be in trouble."

"Can the connection be broken?" Sara asked.

"I don't know, but I'll do some research and see what I can find. With any luck, we can sever the connection without doing harm to either of them."

"What happens if one of us gets killed?" Ed asked. "I mean, it's not like it's impossible. What if one of us gets into a fight or hit by a car or something? Would we both die because of the connection?" Everyone in the room except Hoenheim paled slightly at the idea that both would die if one were killed.

Hoenheim nodded gravely. "It's very possible. I've only ever heard of something like this happening once before, and it didn't end well. Theirs was a _very_ strong connection. It was several hundred years ago, when people were extremely superstitious. They had such a strong connection that they could speak into each other's minds. They were very indiscreet, and people thought they were evil sorcerers, and the two were burned at the stake."

Nobody knew what to say to that, and a long, awkward silence filled the room. "Well, I guess we'll just have to be a little more discreet than they were, now won't we?" Al finally said.

"Yeah," Ed agreed. "I don't want to be killed because people decide I'm a wizard or something. Hey, what are we going to do about living arrangements?" he asked suddenly. "I mean, I like living here and all, but I'd like to be with Al again."

"And I miss Brother," Al commented. "I'm not used to being alone." He looked at Hoenheim and quickly corrected himself. "Sorry, Dad. I didn't mean it that way. It's just that I've never really been away from Ed for any length of time, and I had no way of knowing this was going to happen."

Their father laughed. "Don't worry about it. I know what you meant, and I understand." Al relaxed at the assurance. "I think it would be best if Ed came to live in our house, though. The two of you are brothers, after all." Everyone nodded their agreement.

With that, the discussion turned to how and when they would help Ed move. Nobody noticed the shadowy figure sitting on a large branch of the large oak outside the window, looking in at them with a perfect place to both see and hear their conversation through the open window. After the conversation turned from the topic of the boys' link, the figure slipped down and away, blending in perfectly with the shadows.

* * *

**Ooohh, cliffie! I'll try to get the next chapter done by next week, okay? Reviews will help keep me motivated, so you probably want to click the little button down there. You see it? It's the one that says 'Post Review as ...' Go ahead and push it. You know you want to! **

**As a totally random note, it's snowing. In Alabama. It's clearly the end of the world, people. See you in heaven! No, seriously, it's snowed more in the last two weeks than it has in the last seventeen years. It's ridiculous. IT SHOULD NOT SNOW IN ALABAMA. Fact of life. Later!**


	9. Chapter 9 preview while I finish it

**Hey guys, sorry it took so long. I do have excuses. First, I had no idea what to do next, then I had...personal issues, then I had a whole butt load of homework, and finally, I completely lost my movitation. I got TWO FUCKING REVIEWS, PEOPLE! TWO! I warned you; I said 'reviews will help keep me motivated' and only got two. So we're going to make this final. I will ONLY post AFTER I get a MINIMUM of 5 reviews per chapter. Capiche? So review, if only for the sake of the faithful Lilaclily00 and Elizina, who kindly reviewed. Unlike the rest of you. Thanks guys! (That was only for the two reviewers, thou unreviewing bottleslurges!) On another note, that's going to be a new insult I use. I like the sound of it. :) Carry on!**

**999999999999999999921212121212121212121212121212121212121219999999999999999999**

The next few weeks passed quickly, with Ed and Al learning to manipulate and use their connection. Under Hoenheim's (Ed still refused to call him 'Dad' the vast majority of the time, though occasionally he did say it when Hoenheim wasn't in the room and he was with Al) tutelage, they slowly learned how to send thoughts, feelings, images, and to block each other off from parts of their minds, knowing the importance of being able to separate themselves. At first, they could do little other than feel strong emotions and share dreams. Their bond became so strong that they were in both minds at once all the time, and they tended to take turns speaking, much to Alec's (and others') annoyance. At dinner one night, it was particularly bad.

...

_Flashback_

"Hey Alec," Ed started.

"Did you-" Al continued

"-get the-"

"-metal we ne-"

"-eded for that-"

"-sculpture we're-"

"-making for-"

"-art class?"

"Because we-"

"-really need-"

"-it to be-"

"-able to-"

"-finish the-"

"-armor, and-"

"-Hoenheim-"

"-doesn't know-"

"-which shop-"

"-to go to,-"

"-so we-"

"-can't get the-"

"STOP!" Alec yelled, clutching his head. The siblings shared a look and stared at him in confusion.

"What'd we-" Al started

"-do?" Ed finished.

"Gah!" Alec cried. "_That!_ You won't stop interrupting every word you say! It gives me a headache worse than being smashed in the head with a baseball bat would!"

Ed grinned mischeivously. "Wanna find out if that's true?" Al just shook his head, smiling softly at his brother's antics."

"Sorry, Alec. We'll try to stop talking in turn. It's just that we're so strongly connected now that if we aren't consciously trying to hide our thoughts, we're practically one person. Dad calls it _cogitando quasi_. It means 'thinking as one'**(1)**. It mean's we've reached a whole other level of the connection, though we _will_ have to start being careful not to talk like that in public, or people will get suspicious and burn us at the stake for sorcery or something."

_End Flashback_

_..._

Another thing that happened over that time was that Ed slowly regained his sight. At first, he could only see slight shadows, but over time, his vision returned to normal and he no longer had to rely on others to get around.

**1) I used an online translator for this. If anyone speaks Latin and knows this is wrong, please tell me so I can fix it.**


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